Suns restructure- Trainer Aaron Nelson to the Pelicans

[slinslin]

I should mention; while I am not too saddened by Nelson's departure, this is the kind of "pound wise, penny foolish" move that I don't trust Sarver with at all. I hope we hire... an actual athletic trainer, someone in sports medicine... and not his allergy doctor or something.

it is total speculation at this point that money is the reason here.

 

[Phrazbit]

it is total speculation at this point that money is the reason here.

I'm not saying money is the reason for the departure, I am just hoping Sarver doesn't skimp on his replacement. IMO, Sarver hasn't been cheap with the roster, he has been cheap with the scouts, the coaching, the GM... ect.

 

[Hoop Head]

Yeah, I've been talking about the nagging injuries and the possibility our vaunted training staff is overrated for a few years now. But OTOH they can only do so much if the players aren't following the instructions, particularly lifestyle choices (regular sleep, avoiding alcohol and processed food etc.) I'm not saying that's what's happening but with so many young players I wouldn't be surprised.

Hopefully they can bring someone in who is capable of building a good rapport with the players so they do listen to them and we don't need to worry about any youngsters partying too much. I have no clue if that was an issue with Aaron Nelson or not but I don't want to see that as a problem for the next group brought in.

I think some fans will make a bigger deal out of this than it is simply because they're familiar with Aaron Nelson to a certain extent. Knowing his name doesn't mean he was an excellent trainer or that he was worth keeping around. I don't think anyone outside of the organization can say how good he was the last few years. I know on the outside looking in our players have suffered a lot of nagging injuries that seemed to linger for a long time. Maybe that's not Nelson's fault but we don't really know either way. I'm not saying he was bad at his job, he's been with the Suns since 1993 and he wouldn't have made it that long if he was bad at his job.

The Suns have only had 2 different head athletic trainers though so change could be a good thing. They hired Joe Proski in 1968 and he held that position up through the 1999-2000 season when he retired. Nelson took over full time as the head trainer in the 2000-01 season. He was hired in 1993 to serve under Proski though. So we don't really know what change there looks like. Hopefully we don't see a difference in a negative way.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Anyway you look at it a lifer who jumps ship, particularly if they’re widely respected, is a bad look for the organization.

 

[Hoop Head]

Anyway you look at it a lifer who jumps ship, particularly if they’re widely respected, is a bad look for the organization.

It would look worse if he asked out. I don't think this looks that bad. A former boss of his got the top job with another team and needed an athletic trainer. He asked if he wanted to join him with that new team and Nelson decided to go. We don't know the financials involved but it's likely Nelson got a nice raise to go to New Orleans.

Beyond the financial incentives, the Suns won't have a new training facility for another 2 or 3 years also while the Pelicans have a state of the art facility that they moved into before the 2013-14 season. It's a joint facility they share with the Saints, which may be enticing for someone who has been around for a while like Nelson. I'm not sure if there is another NBA team team that shares their facility with an NFL team. You can see some pics of their facility here...

https://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/p...ning-facilities-partner-ochsner-health-system

 

[95pro]

Maybe Nelson just thought he had become complacent, I mean he's been with us forever and maybe he felt it was just time to move on. On the other hand, our training staff really hasn't been as effective. Unsure if this is because of the organization or monetary reasons, or both?

 

[Proximo]

care to sum up?

Ashley Nevel, who is a reporter for Bright side of the sun, and is at practices etc said the following.

TJ Warren was actually healthy at the end of the season, but did not want to play because he wants out of phoenix. Said she also heard he was doing workouts on his own, and basically shut himself down because he wants out and was upset with his playing time. She says 100% she thinks he will be traded.

She also said she thinks Jackson will be traded, and that she doubts Crawford will come back based on him saying he needs to be in the playoffs next season.

Also said players did not respect Igor as a head coach and told her several times they often did not even understand what he was talking about, and that Joe Prunty was who all the players actually communicated with.

They also talked about James Jones wanting to get rid of everybody including the training staff to prove he is in charge.

It was just a very depressing podcast.

 

[Mainstreet]

My first thought about the departure of Aaron Nelson, it's another piece of the Jerry Colangelo era slipping away. I'm not saying this has anything thing to do with the former owner.

 

[Hoop Head]

I know some here questioned how serious TJ's injury was but I don't know how much I believe this claim. I would think if it were true, that he shut himself down and didn't return because he wanted out that bad then someone else would have broken that story during the season. Why haven't we heard it until now? Think about where it came from also, it was mentioned in passing halfway into the 3rd or 4th episode of a local podcast that's been put out since the season ended. The only reason it was said is the reporter who dropped that news was filling in for one of the regular hosts this week also. It's not like there weren't plenty of hit pieces released between when TJ sat and the end of the season that adding that note about Warren would have helped the author of those back up their other claims.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

They also talked about James Jones wanting to get rid of everybody including the training staff to prove he is in charge.

It was just a very depressing podcast.

If that’s all true it is certainly depressing. But the worst piece is this item about jones. If that’s accurate it just paints an even worse picture of the dude. So while many of you might not agree with me, my image of jones is now a backstabbing, lazy, megalomaniac. Again, if everything that’s been reported is accurate. When these type of things start to stack it lends credence to earlier reports imo. For instance, I wasn’t a believer that jones backstabbed McD. But with subsequent info on him - again if accurate - I am more inclined to not give him the benefit of the doubt and to believe negative reports. The irony? When we brought him onboard I was excited due to his rep around the league’s players and his reputation for being an intelligent guy.

 

[Hoop Head]

If that’s all true it is certainly depressing. But the worst piece is this item about jones. If that’s accurate it just paints an even worse picture of the dude. So while many of you might not agree with me, my image of jones is now a backstabbing, lazy, megalomaniac. Again, if everything that’s been reported is accurate. When these type of things start to stack it lends credence to earlier reports imo. For instance, I wasn’t a believer that jones backstabbed McD. But with subsequent info on him - again if accurate - I am more inclined to not give him the benefit of the doubt and to believe negative reports. The irony? When we brought him onboard I was excited due to his rep around the league’s players and his reputation for being an intelligent guy.

I'm not sure if Jones stabbed McD in the back or not but that quote that came out from McD's new radio show how he said "It's business as usual in Phoenix as they fired their head coach." and went on to say the whole 4 coaches in 4 years stuff while removing himself from the equation entirely changed my opinion of him. When I heard that I understood why Dragic, the Morrii, and other players couldn't stand him. He was so detached from it and how he personally fired 3 of those coaches but the way he said it you would think he was talking about the Atlanta Hawks or someone else. It was very cold. I know that was posted here by someone and I was surprised more people didn't comment on it.

I don't know how Jones will turn out but I'm grateful he's erasing McD's presence from the team. The lady that said that Jones was out to remove McD's people said that pretty much everyone hired under McD was on the hot seat with the exception of Booker, Ayton, and Bridges. So long as those guys are kept, I'm fine with Jones putting his people in place.

She might have said Jones was out to install his people throughout the organization but I thought she said he was only replacing McD's people, not removing everyone that he didn't hire like Nelson. Nelson was more of a case of Griffin wanting him than anything else. Griffin does have a history with Nelson so I don't think that situation should be read into too much.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I know some here questioned how serious TJ's injury was but I don't know how much I believe this claim. I would think if it were true, that he shut himself down and didn't return because he wanted out that bad then someone else would have broken that story during the season. Why haven't we heard it until now? Think about where it came from also, it was mentioned in passing halfway into the 3rd or 4th episode of a local podcast that's been put out since the season ended. The only reason it was said is the reporter who dropped that news was filling in for one of the regular hosts this week also. It's not like there weren't plenty of hit pieces released between when TJ sat and the end of the season that adding that note about Warren would have helped the author of those back up their other claims.

I don't believe it but I don't dis-believe it either. From what I've read about Ashley I find no reason to accept what she says but that doesn't mean it isn't accurate. And from the way everything went down with TJ, I wouldn't be surprised either way. I do remember Jones talking about players worried too much about their minutes (stats?) back in December or so and I always wondered if he was referencing Warren - the other likely choice would have been Booker which would be far more problematic for our future.

 

[Mainstreet]

Ashley Nevel, who is a reporter for Bright side of the sun, and is at practices etc said the following.

TJ Warren was actually healthy at the end of the season, but did not want to play because he wants out of phoenix. Said she also heard he was doing workouts on his own, and basically shut himself down because he wants out and was upset with his playing time. She says 100% she thinks he will be traded.

She also said she thinks Jackson will be traded, and that she doubts Crawford will come back based on him saying he needs to be in the playoffs next season.

Also said players did not respect Igor as a head coach and told her several times they often did not even understand what he was talking about, and that Joe Prunty was who all the players actually communicated with.

They also talked about James Jones wanting to get rid of everybody including the training staff to prove he is in charge.

It was just a very depressing podcast.

I agree the content of the podcast was very depressing. What's worse is a good portion of this is correct.

I thought the first 30 minutes of it was the most interesting but it contained too much speculation for my taste.

If Juwan Howard ends up being the Suns head coach then I will have to listen to it again.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I agree the content of the podcast was very depressing. What's worse is a good portion of this is correct.

I thought the first 30 minutes of it was the most interesting but it contained too much speculation for my taste.

If Juwan Howard ends up being the Suns head coach then I will have to listen to it again.

Why (question, not a challenge)? I haven't listened to the podcast so I'm curious how he factors in. I don't remember the source but I read a blurb just recently saying he was not one of our coaching prospects.

 

[Mainstreet]

Why (question, not a challenge)? I haven't listened to the podcast so I'm curious how he factors in. I don't remember the source but I read a blurb just recently saying he was not one of our coaching prospects.

There was some discussion in the most recent Solar Panel Podcast that James Jones might be going through the motions which could lay the groundwork for him to bring in one of his best friends in Juwan Howard.

It's pure speculation of course, but with all the changes Jones is making anything seems possible.

There is not a lot of communication between the front office and the fans. It's reminiscent of the Lance Blanks era which does not bring back good memories.

 

[Proximo]

Why (question, not a challenge)? I haven't listened to the podcast so I'm curious how he factors in. I don't remember the source but I read a blurb just recently saying he was not one of our coaching prospects.

It was speculation by Greg Espisito I think that Juwan Howard is who James Jones really wants to hire, but he did not want to interview him right away because of how it will look.

I don't really believe this, I think they do want to hire Monty Williams.

 

[95pro]

ok so why do they want to bring this news up in a podcast now and not during the season as breaking news or real insider info? sounds like a like of speculation, maybe not even that, but just guessing like any other joe.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Suns have released their official statement on Aaron Nelson. See link below.

It looks like they have a partnership with Steward and EXOS.

Here is an excerpt from the statement about the Suns new direction:


The team is leveraging its partnership with Steward, including its national network of physicians and specialists, to add depth and experience to the club’s medical operations this offseason. The Steward team includes experts in primary care sports medicine, orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, athletic training, sports psychology, and more, which the Suns will utilize to advance the team’s efforts.


In addition, the Suns are partnering with EXOS on a new collaboration that will support an expansion of the team’s efforts in the sustainable high performance space. Headquartered in Phoenix and renowned globally for helping athletes unlock potential while reducing injuries, EXOS builds customized player performance programs and provides the tools and resources to ensure teams have useful data, insights and expert guidance. More details will be announced in the near future.


https://www.nba.com/suns/suns-statement-aaron-nelson

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Suns have released their official statement on Aaron Nelson. See link below.

It looks like they have a partnership with Steward and EXOS.

Here is an excerpt from the statement about the Suns new direction:


The team is leveraging its partnership with Steward, including its national network of physicians and specialists, to add depth and experience to the club’s medical operations this offseason. The Steward team includes experts in primary care sports medicine, orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, athletic training, sports psychology, and more, which the Suns will utilize to advance the team’s efforts.


In addition, the Suns are partnering with EXOS on a new collaboration that will support an expansion of the team’s efforts in the sustainable high performance space. Headquartered in Phoenix and renowned globally for helping athletes unlock potential while reducing injuries, EXOS builds customized player performance programs and provides the tools and resources to ensure teams have useful data, insights and expert guidance. More details will be announced in the near future.


https://www.nba.com/suns/suns-statement-aaron-nelson

That sounds, umm, hopeful?

 

[Mainstreet]

That sounds, umm, hopeful?

I took it as a positive sign that the Suns had a plan in place before they let Aaron Nelson leave.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I took it as a positive sign that the Suns had a plan in place before they let Aaron Nelson leave.

Me too but admittedly I'm looking for "positive signs".

 

[Krangodnzr]

If that’s all true it is certainly depressing. But the worst piece is this item about jones. If that’s accurate it just paints an even worse picture of the dude. So while many of you might not agree with me, my image of jones is now a backstabbing, lazy, megalomaniac. Again, if everything that’s been reported is accurate. When these type of things start to stack it lends credence to earlier reports imo. For instance, I wasn’t a believer that jones backstabbed McD. But with subsequent info on him - again if accurate - I am more inclined to not give him the benefit of the doubt and to believe negative reports. The irony? When we brought him onboard I was excited due to his rep around the league’s players and his reputation for being an intelligent guy.

The "getting rid of people to show he's in charge bit" sounds ridiculous.

 

[Yuma]

I'm 25 minutes into this next one, there really isn't any new information discussed. The guest, Ashley Nevel, says that TJ was scrimmaging while he was out "hurt" and that it was more that his time here was up rather than he was truly that hurt. He was hurt but he should have returned sooner.

Also it was said that Sarver did not fly to meet Monty Williams or the Portland coaches.

I keep thinking about the quote from TJ himself where he said he wanted to be sure he was 100% so he could play so it wasn't on his mind. I am wondering why he would say that if he really wanted to play again?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

The "getting rid of people to show he's in charge bit" sounds ridiculous.

Yeah but it wouldn’t be the first time a new gm has done it.

 

[BC867]

Yeah but it wouldn’t be the first time a new gm has done it.

Especially if he reaches out to his friends, rather than who is best for the position. It is no different than nepotism.

We will find out soon if Jones' priority is to hire his own people.